Feb. 4, 2011—North Central’s collegiate chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) earned an Honorable Mention award in the Annual International Case Competition. For the third consecutive year, North Central’s chapter placed in the top 25 internationally.

The AMA Case Competition is a yearlong event that brings top marketing students together to work on a marketing challenge submitted by a sponsoring organization. This year’s sponsor is Nintendo.

The College’s five team members and faculty advisors will attend the AMA conference March 24-26 in New Orleans where they’ll receive recognition and award certificates for their accomplishment. Team members include Mike Gongol ’11, a marketing major; Brett Hulett ’12, a marketing and management major; Jessica Reynolds ’12, a marketing and psychology major; Dana Schlusemann ’12, a marketing major; and Jon Tinman ’12, a marketing major. The team is coached by Brian Hanlon, assistant professor of marketing; Rick Fobes, lecturer in business; and Gary Ernst, Coleman Foundation Professor of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, professor of international business and marketing and chair of management and marketing.

An AMA representative noted that this year’s competition attracted a record number of inquiries and a record number of completed case submissions.

For the competition, Nintendo challenged participating chapters to develop an integrated marketing communications plan for its current lineup of console, portable gaming devices and software in the United States. Without creating any new software or hardware devices, teams were asked to develop a plan to attract potential segments that are currently non-gamers. The 10 finalists will present their case solutions to Nintendo at the 33rd Annual AMA International Collegiate Conference in New Orleans, where the winner will be chosen. The four semi-finalist and 10 Honorable Mention chapters will also be recognized at the conference.